


What Do You Tell Them

by AshWinterGray



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Assassin - Freeform, Crying, Gen, Kidnapping, Major character death - Freeform, Maybe - Freeform, Men Crying, Murder, Pleading, Rescue, Sobbing, Torture, everyone is crying, friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-19
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-23 01:52:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17071211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray
Summary: He watched with an almost proud smile as Dustin walked into the school and began talking to Mr. Clarke. Of course, his gaze quickly shifted to Nancy and that smile fell. It still hurt, though he was doing his best to keep his distance. He wondered if the pain would ever stop. With a sigh, Steve began to drive away. Maybe he could get a burger before Benny’s closed for the night.And as he was driving, he was greeted with a searing pain.





	What Do You Tell Them

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I am still doing my other books. Don't worry.

            He watched with an almost proud smile as Dustin walked into the school and began talking to Mr. Clarke. Of course, his gaze quickly shifted to Nancy and that smile fell. It still hurt, though he was doing his best to keep his distance. He wondered if the pain would ever stop. With a sigh, Steve began to drive away. Maybe he could get a burger before Benny’s closed for the night.

            And as he was driving, he was greeted with a searing pain.

            He wasn’t sure where it was coming from, but he cried out, losing control of the car. Of course he would be near the woods when this happened too, and Steve found himself staring at a tree. Someone opened the side of his door. He barely had time to process the barrel of a gun to his head, before he passed out.

            What a _great_ way to die.

\-------------------------------

            Hopper’s body just wasn’t functioning right as he watched Powell and Callahan put out the fire. He knew this car, knew who owned it. They were lucky someone had been nearby, or nothing would have been salvageable. The body was not salvageable. The body of Steve Harrington was completely burned and charred beyond recognition, and if the police hadn’t been called so soon, this would have been an accident. But it wasn’t. The body had purposefully been burned first and the car was meant to follow had someone not been nearby. There was a disformed bullet wound in the windshield, and burned blood coated the seat.

            What was he supposed to tell the others?

            What was he supposed to tell the kids?

            Everyone knew that Hopper had suddenly taken several of the local kids under his wing. Especially Steve Harrington. No one in town knew what the boy was doing for Hopper except those involved in the Upside Down. Steve really did turn out to be a great babysitter. When he was alive.

            Hopper chanced a glance back at the body, which was a mistake. Hopper sank to his knees and released a sob. The fire was out, and Powell was searching for evidence. Callahan had gone to Hopper’s side, trying to calm the Chief down.

            What was he supposed to tell Will?

            What was he supposed to tell Mike?

            This was a murder, not the accident the killer had intended. Hopper’s blood was boiling beneath his skin. If Hawkins Lab had _anything_ to do with this, Hopper swore right then and there that he would do everything in his power to make sure they were buried. He need to call Doctor Owens.

            What was he supposed to tell Lucas?

            What was he supposed to tell Max?

            Hopper got his barring and told Callahan to go finish his job. Neither Callahan or Powell had seen this look before on Hopper. They silently agreed they never wanted to see this look on Hopper ever again. Flo radioed saying she had finally gotten ahold of the Harrington’s, a surprise to everyone. They were on their way. Two to three days in total before they arrived. That was plenty of time for Hopper to get the information he would need.

            What was he supposed to tell El?

            What was he supposed to tell Dustin?

            He watched as the body was loaded into a body bag, finally out of sight. The only salvageable part had been a burnt pocket watch. Hopper clutched that close once it had cooled. Steve’s parents were bound to take everything else, and the kids would need at least this.

            What do you tell them?

            The truth.

\--------------------------

            The kids didn’t take it well, least of all Dustin and El. Dustin hadn’t left his house, and El didn’t want to see anyone. So here Hopper was, two days later, still no Harrington’s, and Doctor Owens sitting in front of him.

            “I checked,” Owens said quickly as he placed a file on the table the moment Hopper sat down. “We had nothing to do with Steve Harrington’s murder. But it didn’t take me long to figure out who. The man flaunted it pretty readily.”

            Hopper felt his blood boil more than it had when he saw Steve’s body as he opened the folder. Everything was there. Motive, evidence, time, and anything else Hopper could think of to get these guys locked away.

            “This was a _business dispute_?” Hopper all but screamed out. “Some _idiot_ killed a teenage boy because he was mad at the boy’s _father?”_

            Doctor Owens nodded solemnly. “Fraid so. We plan to give the evidence to the correct authorities as soon as I told you.” Owens put a hand on Hopper’s shoulder as he collected the file and moved to leave. “I can’t bring him back, but I can bring him justice.”

            Getting back in his car, Hopper couldn’t help but just openly sob. One of his kids was dead because of a _business dispute._ Of all the things that could have killed one of them, of all the things they had faced, humans were by far the worst types of monsters.

            When he got to the station, Hopper found the Harrington’s waiting for him. He took them to see the body, watched as Mr. Harrington left the building and Mrs. Harrington broke down. He took them to meet Dustin, telling them stories of how their son had shaped up and become a fine young man and altering the story of how Steve had protected the kids.

            Mrs. Harrington held Dustin close as they both sobbed. And it was Mrs. Henderson’s hot chocolate that finally got Mr. Harrington to cry. They stayed at the Henderson house for some time, listening to Dustin talk about how Steve had become like his big brother. He also told him how much Steve wished that his parents were home a bit more. Just so Steve could show them that he had become a better person. The Harrington’s decided to stay with the Henderson’s after Claudia offered. Hopper just nodded and said he was there if they needed anything.

            Getting back to the office found Tommy H. and Carol there. Tommy delivered a few punches to Hopper, demanding to know why Hopper hadn’t done anything. Why Hopper hadn’t caught Steve’s killer. Tommy broke down in tears in Hopper’s arms and Carol was sobbing too, and Hopper pulled them both into his office so they could all cry.

            Tommy said Steve had been trying to make-up with them since November. Just be friends without the popularity like they had in middle school. At one point, when they were still friends, they had planned to go to college together. Help Steve find a nice girlfriend and be friends forever. Tommy’s pride had been far to great to make amends. He more than regretted it now.

            Hopper, in turn, let slip what he had been told by Doctor Owens without giving away his source. Tommy and Carol just cried more.

            Billy Hargrove chose that moment to barge in with Max in his arms. She looked so thin and tired and it had only been two days since Steve died. Hopper wondered if all the kids looked like that. Dustin certainly did, and El still wouldn’t let Hopper in her room. Magic powers were really obnoxious. Hopper didn’t get much time to process this because Billy slammed his palms on the desk and demanded that if Hopper didn’t do anything, he would.

            Hopper told both Max and Billy what Doctor Owens told him.

            The news had Max sobbing wildly against her brother’s chest and Billy just deflating. Steve had also been trying to make up with Billy. Even if there was nothing between them to begin with. And for once, Hopper hated Steve’s kind heart. Maybe if Steve had still been the rich jerk kid of Hawkins, he wouldn’t care.

            That terrible thought made Hopper hate himself and he knew he had to tell the rest of the kids. He borrowed Max’s radio that she had been clutching and told them. It didn’t reach the Byer’s though, just Mike, Lucas, and Dustin. Hopper went and told the Byers in person before he decided to head home.

            Joyce let him cry a bit more before he could go home. He needed it, because now he had to tell El.

            El was not in her room when he opened the door.

            In fact, she was in front of the TV, radio set out, and static in the air. The familiar blindfold was wrapped around her head, smooshing some of her curls. But it was the tears that fell with the blood that got Hopper’s attention.

            “El?” he called softly.

            With a shaky breath, El tilted her head to the side, turning the hand-held radio on.

            _“It’s your choice kid.”_

_“Burn. In. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH-!”_

            The first voice was one Hopper had never heard before. But he knew the second one. He had learned it recently from visits, had gotten to know the voice as caring. He had never heard the voice scream before, nor had he heard it that strained or in pain, but he knew that voice. The scream cut off as El ripped the blindfold off her face and turned to Hopper. Her eyes were just pouring out tears as if there was no tomorrow.

            “Steve’s not dead.”

            Hopper thought he would faint.

\-----------------------------------

            The last thing Steve remembered was the barrel of a gun being pressed to his head. Now he was waking up in a completely dark room. There was one light, an over-head light that shown down on him. He was currently gagged and tied to a chair. It would have been fine, the bonds weren’t too tight, but he also had a bullet wound in his shoulder. And a man in a mask was currently cleaning it.

            Steve let out a gagged scream as the man dug an alcohol covered cloth into the wood. The bullet had already been removed, Steve could see it on the ground. His captor just shushed him, moving one blood-soaked hand to stroke Steve’s hair.

            “This will all be over soon,” he cooed gently.

            Steve knew that was a lie. He spent the next hour screaming in pain as his captor cleaned the wound, stitched it up, and then cleaned it again. There were absolutely no pain meds given or offered during this entire procedure. Steve was so exhausted from the screaming and feeling the pain, that he passed out when his captor gave a bloodied pat to his head.

            When he woke up again, his captor was still wearing that ridiculous mask, and was offering a flask to Steve’s lips. Steve hadn’t even been aware he was thirst until the cool water touched his tongue. His captor only let him have a sip.

            “Well, Stevie,” his captor hummed. “Looks like it’s just going to be you and me for a while. All of Hawkins thinks your dead, and I got paid.”

            “What are you talking about?” Steve grounded out through a raw throat and pained breath.

            His captor pulled Steve’s head back by his hair and forced Steve to swallow more of the water. Steve nearly gagged on the sudden liquid in his mouth had his captor not massaged Steve’s throat. Steve already hated this person.

            “You see,” his captor hummed as he released Steve’s head. “I was hired to kill you months ago. But I’m one of those people who likes to get to know their victims.”

            Steve grunted as his captor threw one arm around the crown of Steve’s head and the other had pushed the flash to Steve’s lips again.

            “Now, I was under the impression you were some sort of jerk,” his captor cooed, setting the flask down and moving to squish Steve’s face in between his hands, making his voice sound as if he were talking to a baby. “But you’re just a big softie. Too much heart, and nothing like your father. Nope. Nothing like your father, at all.”

            Releasing Steve’s face, he quickly grabbed the flask and pulled Steve back by his hair again. Steve thought he was ready this time. But the last few times had just been sips. His captor decided to release the whole content of the flask into Steve’s mouth this time. Steve gagged as his captor continued to massage Steve’s throat, aiding the water down. He didn’t let go of Steve’s hair this time.

            “I’ve got standards, Stevie boy,” his captor hummed. “I don’t just kill because I can. I’m more of the vigilante type. Like Jason Todd. Don’t know who that is? I’ll just have to read to you sometime.” His captor cackled a bit. “But you aren’t a bad person, Stevie. A little messed up, but not a bad person. You did protect those kids. And yes, I saw that.”

            He got close to Steve’s ear, breathing steadily into it, making Steve shudder.

            “So I faked your death,” he breathed into Steve’s ear. “And I’ll keep you here for a bit, then I’ll let you go. But by that point, no one will believe it is you. I’ll get you a fake identity, and you’ll be forced to start over in some new town.”

            His captor cackled again, throwing Steve’s head forward. Steve let out a cry as his shoulder was jostled, but a gag was quickly shoved into his mouth. Then his captor was gone, leaving Steve in the dark with just a god-light for company.

            The next day, the third day, his captor had an offer.

            “If you agreed to cooperate,” he hummed. “I could let you out. That is, if you don’t run away.” The slammed his palm into Steve’s injured shoulder. “All you’ve got to do is behave.”

            “I’d rather rot,” Steve bit out.

            There was no way he was going to become his captor’s pet. He made sure to glare at the man before him, but his captor only grinned, his mask barely hiding the glint in his eyes.

            “It’s not a hard offer,” he hummed, moving to straddle Steve’s lap. “You can either stay in the dark until I deem it safe. Or you can stay in my house with me and only be locked away when I leave.”

            “That isn’t a choice,” Steve spat back.

            “It is,” his captor hummed. “It’s your choice kid.”

            “Burn. In. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

            His captor pressed down on the bullet wound until the stiches popped and Steve was left bleeding. His captor just grinned the entire time he went through the cleaning and bandaging process again.

            “Remember,” his captor smiled, almost sweetly. “It’s your choice.”

\-----------------------

            It had taken a lot of convincing, but El was determined, so Hopper hadn’t stood a chance. In a matter of hours, she had located Kali’s location and was getting off the bus in Chicago once more. If she was going to save Steve, she needed help getting in.

            They were happy to see her, but they could each see that El needed something. They way her body was tense, the pained look in her eye.

            “What’s wrong, Jane?” Kali asked as she lifted her sister’s chin.

            “My friend,” El breathed out. “He’s hurt. He’s being hurt. I need to get him. Please. I need your help.”

            “Slow down, sweetheart,” Funshine put a caring hand on her shoulder. “Start from the beginning. What happened?”

            There were mixed reactions to the news and request, and El was sent to Kali’s “room” so the gang could discuss. Whether Kali helped or not, she was going to save Steve. Speaking of which, El shut her eyes and focused, reaching out for Steve.

            _He was still tied to the chair, but he had a bruise on his face, and a burn through his jeans. It had taken three days to convince Hopper to let her find Kali and save Steve. Steve’s parents were still in too much shock to plan the funeral, though it was scheduled for next week. The business partner had been through in jail; a life sentence. The assassin was never found. He had been torturing Steve for the last three days. Cuts, bruises, and burns littered Steve’s body._

            _But there was defiance in Steve’s gaze. He was holding on._

_“I’m coming,” El whispered, as she always did. “I will save you. I swear.”_

_Steve chuckled. He’d never done that before. “Don’t bother, El,” he breathed back, barely a whisper. “He knows about you. He’ll be ready. Just stay away, or he’ll kill you.”_

Kali shook El out of the space and brushed tears away.

            “We’re going to help you, Jane,” Kali said determinedly. “I swear it.”

            They were hitting the road the next day. They didn’t park near the house, though they were sure to park in town, and they waited for night fall. Kali said that was the best time to attack. And El was reminded that night was when Steve was taken. Using Kali’s abilities, the group snuck in through a window of the rather large house. Then they split up. El knew Steve was behind a bookcase, but finding the bookcase was another matter.

            El was paired with Axel, and they were the ones to find Steve. But the assassin was also with Steve.

            “We have guests,” Steve’s captor cooed as he slid the sharp edge of the knife down Steve’s arm.

            Steve hissed, and El roared as she threw the assassin back. The knife nicked Steve in the process, causing him to cry out. The assassin was prepared for El’s outburst, just as Steve said he would be. A sharp object, that El didn’t have time to process, was quickly flung into her shoulder. Axel managed to dodge, but El cried out in pain. There was a scuffle between Axel and the assassin. Short because the assassin was quick to shove a knife in Axel’s side. And then there was a gun shot. Kali was directly behind the now dead assassin. Dottie and Mick took Axel to the car as Funshine took Steve and Kali guided El.

            “El,” Steve gasped as the younger fell into his line of sight. “El?”

            “I’m here,” El whispered softly, planting a kiss to her babysitter’s forehead. “I’m here, and you’re safe.”

            They had to leave Steve at a hospital, and Kali’s gang personally took El home after cleaning and taking care of her wound. She wasn’t allowed to use her shoulder for three weeks.

\----------------------

            Once Steve was identified, he was quickly taken to Hawkins Central Hospital where he was reunited with his parents and the Hendersons. His mother promised repeatedly that she would spend more time with her son, and his father just held him, letting tears fall onto Steve’s good shoulder. A week later, once Steve was deemed stable and well enough, the rest of the kids (minus El) were allowed to come see Steve in the hospital. Nancy and Jonathan brought them, and Steve just smiled at the couple before clinging onto his five kids.

            Billy came in with Max one time, and the two guys just kind of sat there. Like an unspoken agreement. It was clear that by the time Billy left, Steve had a new protector. Tommy and Carol came by too, and Carol cried the entire time, apologizing over and over. Tommy _tried_ not to cry, but a few tears eventually spilled out. Steve had his two best friends back by the end of that visit.

            Steve’s favorite visit, however, was when El walked in. Hopper and Doctor Owens had pulled a few strings and Steve spent the whole day with El and Dustin curled against his side. Steve had never looked so content, and he was the most peaceful anyone had seen him since he got back.

            What do you tell them?

            What do you tell them about your experiences at the hands of another?

            Steve told them the truth.

            And they just clung tighter as he sobbed.

**Author's Note:**

> Got to post things a bit early today. Stuff going on and all that. You know, life.


End file.
